


as simple as

by phyripo



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, No Dialogue, One Shot, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phyripo/pseuds/phyripo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They’re the outsiders.</p><p>Iceland and Finland, DenmarkSwedenNorway.</p><p>It's always been that way, and one day it changes into something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	as simple as

**Author's Note:**

> A thing I wrote in one day and posted on tumblr, and then decided to put up here as well, because AO3 is in dire need of more FinIce (:  
> (The tag 'Relationship Study' seems rather pretentious to me, but I don't know what else to call it.)
> 
> Also; inspired by the song 'We Are The Others' by Delain. 
> 
>  
> 
> _As simple as air in your lungs,_  
>  _as simple as words on your lips_  
> 

They’re the outsiders.

This is nothing new. They have always _been_ separate from the others, in geography or language or age or whatever.

Iceland and Finland, DenmarkSwedenNorway.

It’s not a disadvantage. At least, Finland doesn’t think so. He values his privacy and his alone time and the friends outside their little Nordic group as much as he values the four of them, the way they always come together in the end and the way he’d trust any of them with his life, if not his economy. He wonders what Iceland thinks.

He _often_ wonders what Iceland thinks, because he’s hard to read in a completely different way than Sweden, whose emotions are clear in his eyes if you know what to look for, or Denmark, whose brash exterior is really quite easy to see through if you want to, or even Norway, who, though similar to his brother, has tells that Finland knows by heart.

Iceland is different – back to the outsiders thing. He’s dismissive about his emotions in the same way that Norway is, but he’s more like Denmark in the way he chooses to hide. Rather than overconfidence, it’s insecurity he turns to when he doesn’t want anyone to question him. And that is, somehow, much harder to get through. Finland knows insecurity, and he does not think all of Iceland’s is fake – much like not all of Denmark’s overconfidence is fake, he’s just annoyingly positive sometimes – but he thinks there is more to it than that.

It nags at him all through the turbulence of the twentieth century, as he watches Iceland grow up – in leaps, because sometimes they won’t see each other for years on end – and carries into the new millennium. They meet more often, then; sometimes, they go camping together. It’s nice, those trips. With Iceland, unlike with Sweden, Finland doesn’t feel the need for chatter to fill the silences between them.

It’s then – only then, which later embarrasses Finland more than he’d admit – that he finally stops comparing Iceland to the other Nordics so much, starts to see him as a person, a man, in his own right. Because he is that, and Finland slowly starts to figure him out. He maps little quirks that are not anyone else’s, learns the different intonations of Iceland’s stilted Finnish, his awkwardly monotonous Swedish, his perfect Danish and Norwegian and the rare softly flowing Icelandic. Finland understands why Iceland thinks his language is strange, but he disagrees with him. To him, Icelandic fits perfectly with Iceland. He could listen to him speak it for hours, if only Iceland would let him.

He finds out that Iceland is a great singer on accident and quickly becomes skilled at convincing him to sing campfire songs while Finland plays the guitar. He hardly ever sings in Icelandic, but it still feels like a victory of sorts.

Bit by bit, he comes to understand him – they come to understand each other, in fact.

The insecurity is mostly real, but it gets less over the years. Finland recognizes the process as one he’s gone through himself, and feels proud. The _other_ kind of insecurity, the one Iceland hides behind, becomes less necessary the more time they spend together, the more Iceland comes to trust Finland. Their former circumstantial kinship changes, grows into something less born-out-of-circumstance and more forged-by-choice.

Iceland convinces Finland to sing with him instead of just playing the guitar, which Finland is unsure how he manages, because he loves music yet doesn’t like singing in front of people. But their voices blend nicely, and it becomes a fixture on their trips, a piece of their friendship. They never tell anyone. It’s something that belongs to them specifically.

More things like that keep popping up, things that are exclusively Iceland and Finland, not DenmarkSwedenNorway or Estonia or Hong Kong or anyone else.

It’s something that seems quick, but really takes the better part of two decades to grow into what it is. In light of how busy the twenty-first century is, though, that isn’t a surprise. And it’s probably for the best.

Iceland has a beautiful laugh, Finland thinks. It’s a rare thing, so he makes it a challenge to draw it out of the man. Luckily, Iceland appreciates his form of humor, the dryness of his jokes or his inability to give things normal names. _He_ is also beautiful when he laughs, his face – or his whole body, perhaps – open and unguarded in a way it seldom is.

Finland isn’t sure whether he’s surprised with himself when he’s struck, one night as they sit in silence while the aurora casts otherworldly shadows between the snowy trees, with the urge to kiss Iceland. Not even  on the lips, necessarily – it’s just an urge to be close to him and show him that he cares. He watches the lights play over the familiar contours of Iceland’s face and smiles when he looks up. He can work with this. They could make it work.

In fact, he decides to tell Iceland right away that he might be falling in love with him, because Finland isn’t one for secrets and he thinks Iceland would appreciate to know. And he does – he blushes and stutters and gives a heartfelt smile that absolutely dulls the Northern lights.

IcelandandFinland, DenmarkSwedenNorway.

Denmark grins so brightly when he finds out that Finland is afraid he might pull a muscle. Not that they were hiding. The whole thing is just quiet, like they are.

Norway watches Iceland curl his fingers around Finland’s wrist and nods sagely, but when Finland catches his eye, there’s a smile there. Iceland talks his brother out of giving Finland a shovel talk.

Sweden doesn’t even seem to have noticed until he tells Finland one day to remember to text Iceland because it’s their anniversary. Finland stares at him for a very long time while Sweden tries and fails to hide a smile.

IcelandandFinland.

They are the others, but they’ve never been on their own.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm icedennor on tumblr, by the way.
> 
> ...I ship a lot of nordic things ok


End file.
